Introduction: Remember when you were little, how your arms and legs were always freckled with bruises, cuts, and scrapes? Today it’s our hearts that are mottled with the black-and-blue marks of troubles, leaving us with painful emotional welts. We often feel as if we are, in Shakespeare’s words,“a wretched soul, bruised with adversity.”Adversity besets us all.

 

 

Someone has said, if you were to trace Paul’s journey in the 1st century, it would be like tracking the path of a wounded deer running from a hunter, leaving one bloody trail after another.

 

Let's face it, you and I have no choice, PROBLEMS, TRIALS, and TESTING, are a fact of life and they are here to stay. Sometimes they just bolt out of the blue and drench us in despair, leaving us squirming and helpless. However, we do have a choice as to the outcome.

 

 

The book of James is addressing Jewish Christians who are literally bruised with adversity. They had been driven from their homes and homeland and are constantly being treated with hostility by Gentiles, who hate them because they were Jewish, and by fellow Jews, who hate them because they are Christians. Therefore in this letter, James immediately goes to work setting fractured and disjointed attitudes and binding bruised spirits with the Great Physician’s truth about troubles. In this message we will focus our attention on James 1:2-4, 12 where we read,   

 

 

First: In verse 2 we have the PURPOSE of TRIALS. “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations.” In a literal rendering of this verse James is saying,"When all kinds of trials crowd into your life, my brothers, don't resent them as intruders, but rejoice in them."

 

James tells us to WELCOME TRIALS, count it all JOY when they arrive. Now verse 2 reads in your Bibles"when ye fall into divers temptations."Another way of saying this verse would be,"when you fall into various TRIALS."Or we could read it this way, "when you fall into various TESTS."

 

In verse 12 we read"Blessed is the man that endureth temptation."Again the word"temptation"has the idea of"trial."And the word"blessed"means"happy." Therefore, "happy is the man who has endured trials."

 

 

These types of TRIALS refer to theOUTWARD, ADVERSE CIRCUMSTANCES OF LIFE, OVER WHICH WE HAVE NO CONTROL. They are the little foxes that ruin the perfect occasion.

 

 

The question is HOW ARE YOU REACTING TO TRIALS in your life?

 

 

James tells us to"Count it all joy."Welcome trials and testing with open arms. "Don't resent them as intruders." "Don't become bitter over them."

The word "COUNT" in verse 2 is a financial term meaning to evaluate. The Apostle Paul used this same word in Philippians 3:7-8 where we read, “But what things were gain to me, those I counted as loss for Christ. (8) Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ…” To Paul the THINGS of life did not matter. They were just THINGS. What mattered the most was his relationship to Jesus Christ. As you will find in the book of Philippians, the joy of his life was not in THINGS but in CHRIST.

 

This posture explains why some Christians can have JOY in the midst of trials.THEY LIVE FOR THE THINGS THAT MATTER THE MOST,not in the material world but in the person of Jesus Christ. Our values do determine our reactions to life.

 

 

Job had the right outlook when he said in Job 23:10,"But he knoweth the way that I take; for when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold." David wrote in Psalm 34:1"I will bless the Lord AT ALL TIMES; His praise shall continually be in my mouth."Praise was the pattern of David's life and yet David faced pressures much greater than most of us will ever face in our life time.

 

 

And yet this man after God's own heart said, in Psalm 33:1 "Rejoice in the Lord… for praise is comely to the upright." Again, TRIALS are common to all, but an attitude of PRAISE is all too uncommon.

 

Let me pause to say that in this instance, the biblical concept of JOY is not synonymous with PLEASURE, such as we experience when we sit down to a delicious steak dinner, or when we purchase a new car and pay cash for it, or when we receive a nice raise.

 

The JOYJames is writing about involves the ability to LOOK BEYOND the problem or difficulty we are experiencing and see the OPPORTUNITIESto become more like the Lord Jesus Christ. In other words look on the bright side because GOD IS STILL IN CONTROL.

 

Now back in James 1:2 please notice James says"count it all Joy WHEN…, not IF."God tells us to expect trials. Don't be fooled, the believer who expects his Christian life to be easy is in for a shock. Paul warned in II Timothy 3:11,"…what persecutions I endured: but out of them all, the Lord delivered me."Paul did not say that God delivered him FROM them, but OUT of them. In other words God wants us to have victory in the midst of our trials.

 

James says"count it all JOY when you FALL into…"The word FALL is the same word used in Luke 10:30 to describe the man, you remember in the story of the Good Samaritan, who was traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho and "Fell" among thieves. The crime was unexpected; it happened suddenly, as most problems come that way. God is saying"Count it all Joy when you suddenly and unexpectedly fall into various testing or trials."

 

Listen carefully,"By the word REJOICE the Apostles did not intend a 'grin-and-bear-it or act-tough-like-nothing-happened attitude. Nor is there any masochistic hint of enjoying the pain. Rejoicing in suffering does not mean Christians should act happy about tragedy and pain when they feel like crying. Instead, the Bible's spotlight is on the end result." You and I have to look ABOVE the immediate unpleasantness of the trial and find the JOY in what God is going to accomplish by it. OUTLOOK DETERMINES OUTCOME, to end with joy we need to begin with joy.

 

Second: In verses 2-4, 12 we have the PRODUCT OF TRIALS Verses 3-4, 12. ) (3) Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. (4) But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. (12) Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.”

 

Number 1: In verse 3, patience is produced through trials. “Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.” James is saying the TEST of our faith produces patience.

 

Now the word "trying" in verse 3 and the word "tried" in verse 12 is from the Greek word meaning "APPROVED."The word speaks of heating a piece of metal in a furnace in order to scrape off the impurities that rise to the top. What is left is pure and valuable.

 

 

It is said the more a tree is tossed about by fierce winds the deeper its roots go. Paul said this in Romans 5:3,"… but we glory in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation worketh patience." Someone said, "Tough times…either makes you or breaks you. If you are not utterly crushed by them…you will be enlarged by them. The pain will make you live more deeply…"

 

Now the word "PATIENCE" is another interesting Greek word. We are going to meet this word again in the book of James, but it will be a different Greek word. Here the word is "Hupomeno” meaning "TO STAY UNDER." It conjures a picture of being under the pressure put upon us by circumstances and standing fast. We could read verse 3 like this,"Realize that the trials of your faith come into your life in order to produce the quality of ENDURANCE."

 

When a blacksmith holds a piece of iron in the fire, he is doing so in order to make it more PLIABLE. God sometimes holds us in the fire of affliction in order to make us more pliable to do His will. Listen, "IF YOU AND I ARE CONSTANTLY OUT OF THE FIRE OF AFFLICTION, WE BECOME STIFF AND USELESS."

In the Bible PATIENCE is not a passive acceptance of circumstances. It is a courageous perseverance in the face of suffering. Impatience and unbelief usually go together, just as faith and patience go together. WHEN YOU LEARN TO WAIT UPON THE LORD, THEN GOD CAN DO GREAT THINGS THROUGH YOU.

 

The only way God can develop patience or Christian character in our lives is through trials. Endurance cannot be obtained:

 

James is telling us in verses 2-4, "When all kinds of trials and tests crowd into your lives, my brothers in Christ, don't resist them as intruders. But welcome them as friends, realizing that they come to TEST your Faith and to produce in you the quality of endurance. But let the process go on until that endurance is fully developed." Number 1,we see that pressure produces patience.

 

Number 2: In verse 4 completleness is produced by pressures, “But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing…” The word "perfect" means "mature."The word "entire" means "complete."

 

Today, I am concerned that there are too many defeated Christians who are unable to do God's work in the home, in the church, or in the world for the cause of Christ because of a lack of spiritual development. Let me make two statements:

 

 

 

 

God needs to wean us away from spiritual babyhood to bring us to completion. Each trial causes us to develop a little more maturity to smooth out the rough edges of our Christian faith.Let me put it this way, “God wants us to become spiritual adults and the school he often provides for us is the school of HARD KNOCKS."

 

Before we come to our last point, let me bring to your attention 3 brief statements:

 

 

Number 3: In verse 12 rewards are produced through pressure. “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.” Perhaps in the midst of a trial or tribulation you may have asked, "Is it worth all the trouble?" Listen to the words of the Hymn"When We See Christ"

 

One of the great doctrines of Christianity is our firm belief in Heaven for those who have trusted the Lord Jesus as their personal Savior. Eternally we shall be with Jesus in that place that He is preparing for us. A part of our "excited anticipation" of that day will be to receive His smile of acceptance and His affirmation "well done thou good and faithful servant."

 

James tells those who have stood firm in the midst of trials that there is awaiting them a "CROWN OF LIFE." The Greek crown called a "STEPHONOS" is an Olympic wreath for the victor. This crown is for those who have been steadfast in the midst of suffering for the cause of Christ.

 

In Revelation 4:9-11 we read, “And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth forever and ever, (10) The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, (11) Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” After we receive our crowns it will be our JOY to lay them at the feet of the only one deserving of praise the LORD JESUS CHRIST.

 

Listen carefully to every word of the following statement:"Everything in this life loses its value to us. Everything the world gives wears out. It grows old in our mind. But what Jesus gives us is best today and better tomorrow. Every human acclaim, every human achievement, every human blessing goes downhill. But EVERY DAY WITH JESUS IS SWEETER THAN THE DAY BEFORE. The longer we serve Him, the sweeter He grows.

Listen again to the chorus of"When We See Jesus."